Offshore Drilling: Risks and Impacts on Georgia
July 2008
Offshore drilling involves far more than just drilling a well: day-to-day coastal drilling
disrupts adjacent ecosystems and communities, and likely spills associated with such
drilling causes irreversible impacts on marine and terrestrial life. In 1981, congress
realized these risks and decided to adopt the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) moratorium
in order to ensure our coastal future’s protection. Recently, however, political actors have
called for a lift of the nearly three decade year-old moratorium, but a review of the farreaching impacts drilling would have on Georgia’s costal communities economically and
environmentally when alternatives for oil exist seem shortsighted.
Economic Damage: Recreational and
commercial fishing on Georgia's coast
bring in an estimated $600 million
annually; Georgia's coast supports a
nature-based tourism industry that
generates $1 billion a year.1 The areas
that support recreation and tourism are
especially vulnerable to the visual and
noise intrusion of oil and gas
developments. Further, popular Islands,
such as Jekyll, St. Simons, Tybee,
Cumberland and Sea, are especially at
risk to offshore drilling’s environmental
hazards and risks because of their
sensitive ecosystems and their reliance
on tourism.
Latent Price Impact: A commonly
cited misconception by drilling
supporters is that it will reduce our
dependence on foreign oil and thereby
lower fuel prices. A report last year,
however, by the Energy Department's
Energy Information Administration said
that "access to the Pacific, Atlantic,
and eastern Gulf regions would not
have a significant impact on domestic
crude oil and natural gas production
or prices before 2030. Leasing would
begin no sooner than 2012, and
production would not be expected to
start before 2017." It added, "Because oil
prices are determined on the
international market, however, any
impact on average wellhead prices is
expected to be insignificant."2
Onshore Damage: Offshore wells
require onshore infrastructure, including
miles of pipeline and roads and other
industrial apparatus like ports, helipads,
and dorms. Further, Georgia’s costal
salt marshes, which act as buffers
against offshore storms, are
particularly at risk—pipelines crossing
coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico
are estimated to have destroyed more
coastal salt marsh than can be found in
the stretch of coastal land running from
New Jersey through Maine.3
Spills: Offshore spills are difficult to
contain and can affect a broad area.
Accidents or equipment malfunctions
leading to offshore oil spills can kill fish,
marine mammals, sea birds, sea turtles
and other wildlife (some endangered),
and make affected beaches and other
natural habitat – including sensitive tidal
marshes – severely polluted and
unusable for extended periods. For any
spill, only 5-15% can be cleaned up.4
From 1990 to 1999, offshore drilling
platforms and pipelines spilled 1.8
million gallons of oil in U.S. waters.5
Hurricane Risk: Georgia is vulnerable
to hurricanes that could destroy drilling
infrastructure and induce toxic spills.
The 2005 hurricane season highlights the
danger of depending on susceptible
offshore oil infrastructure, with
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroying
113 petroleum production platforms in
the Gulf of Mexico and damaging 457
pipelines connecting production
facilities.6 Hurricanes Rita and Katrina
also illustrate the risk of oil spills,
spilling an estimated 508,000 gallons of
oil in the Gulf of Mexico.7
Offshore Damage: During exploration
and the construction of the well site and
its associated infrastructure, there is
potential for disturbance of ecological
resources. Even when there are no
large spills, the drilling and
production process routinely releases
hundreds of thousands of gallons of
water and mud tainted with mercury,
carcinogens and poisons into fragile
ecosystems.
Air Pollution: Offshore natural gas
drilling contributes to air pollution.
According to the National
Oceanographic & Atmospheric
Administration, each offshore oil
platform generates approximately
214,000 pounds of air pollutants each
year. An average exploration well for oil
or natural gas generates 50 tons of
nitrogen oxides, 13 tons of carbon
monoxide, 6 tons of sulfur dioxide, and
5 tons of volatile organic hydrocarbons,
contributing to smog, acid rain, and
particulate pollution.8
History of Drilling
1947: Kerr-McGee completes the
world's first commercial oil well 11
miles off Louisiana's shore, marking the
beginning of our nation's offshore
drilling industry.
1969: An offshore Union Oil Co.
platform suffers a devastating blowout,
leaking 200,000 gallons of oil into the
clean waters of the Pacific Ocean.
http://www.latimes.com
1981: Congress adopts the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) moratorium,
which protects America’s coasts,
beaches and marine ecosystems from the
threats of oil and gas development.
Congress has since annually renewed the
moratorium on new oil and gas
development off the Atlantic and Pacific
coasts as well as Bristol Bay Alaska.
2012: The presidential deferrals are set
to expire.
1990: President George H.W. Bush
authors an additional level of protection
which defers new leasing until 2002.
Other Options for our Coast
1998: Bill Clinton extends H.W. Bush’s
additional level of protection.
2006: Oil and gas lobbyists try to pass a
resolution urging for oil and gas
exploration off the coast of Georgia.
2008: The Vitter amendment (#4207 to
Senate Concurrent Resolution 70),
which aims to end the OCS moratorium,
is defeated. Two months later, the
McConnell energy amendment of “drill
anywhere and everywhere” is also
defeated.
The McConnell energy amendment’s
proponents are 17 Republican senators,
who have received $3 million total in
campaign contributions from oil and gas
industry affiliates, according to data
compiled from the nonpartisan Center for
Responsive Politics.
In addition to the drilling provision
proposal would open 2,000 acres of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska to oil and gas leasing and allow
oil shale drilling in the West. Georgia’s
Saxby Chambliss is a co-sponsor of this
energy proposal. 9
2008: John McCain abandons his longtime support for a federal moratorium on
drilling along the nation's coastlines in
favor of allowing states to decide for
themselves.
2008: President George W. Bush lifts a
White House ban on offshore oil drilling
and urges lawmakers to follow suit.
Of renewable options, wind is off
particular interest for costal Georgia.
Wind power recently became a viable
option for Georgia's coast, when
researchers discovered a flaw in
previous thinking regarding the winds
off Tybee. Georgia's offshore wind
capability was dismissed as inadequate
when the federal Department of Energy
scored it as a 2 on its seven-point wind
scale in the 1980s; this rating, however,
was mistakenly based on land values
rather than correct offshore values.
Today, winds are rated 4 and 5 on the
same seven-point scale within 30 miles
of the shoreline, and especially near
Tybee, making wind a promising, clean
energy for Georgia.10
References
1
Kyler, David, director of the Center for a
Sustainable Coast on St. Simons Island “Don't
risk GA coast in quest for energy,” Atlanta
Journal Constitution Online Forum, July 5, 2005
2
Energy Information Administration, “Impacts
of Increased Access to Oil and Natural Gas
Resources in the Lower 48 Federal Outer
Continental Shelf,” Internet accessed; available
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/on
gr.html
3 Boesch and Rabalais, eds., “The Long-term
Effects of Offshore Oil and Gas Development:
An Assessment and a Research Strategy.” A
Report to NOAA, National Marine Pollution
Program Office at 13-11.
4 Donatoni, Matthew, “Offshore Drilling”
http://cseserv.engr.scu.edu/StudentWebPages/M
Donatoni/ResearchPaper.htm
5
National Research Council, Oil in the Sea III,
2003, p. 193, 195.
6 Sayre,
Alan. "Agency: Katrina, Rita Destroyed 113
Petroleum Platforms." Associated Press 1 May 2006.
<http://www.nola.com/newsflash/>.
7
U.S. Minerals Management Service. Estimated
Petroleum Spillage from Facilities Associated
with Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil
and Gas Activities Resulting from Damages
Caused by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005.
8 August 2006.
8
MMS, 2000. Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas
Lease Sale 181, Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS), p. IV-40
9
Mitchell, Kirsten B. “Bill Calls for Easing of
Offshore-Drilling Restrictions.” Washington
Bureau. 2008.
<http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/200805
11/ARTICLE/792269660/1015/news0101&title=
Bill_calls_for_easing_of_offshore_drilling_restri
ctions>Internet; accessed 19 May 2008
10
Georgia Institute Of Technology, “Tech
Study Finds Wind Feasible of GA Coast,”
Internet Accessed; available at
http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?i
d=1437